General Dedication
by Ayaka Sword
Summary: Cloud runs away to Midgar for a fresh start. Could he really win the heart of Sephiroth? Love triangle, yaoi.
1. Escape to Midgar

**General Dedication**

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><p>Chapter One<p>

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><p><span>Escape To Midgar<span>

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><p>The streets of Midgar were overflowing with people, all rushing around, their bodies forming a single wave of colour. It had a coldness than even winter could not match; the plates blocking the sunlight and creating a never ending darkness. The only sources of light were the flashing headlights and the giant billboards looming up ahead. Nobody could escape this nightmare once they arrived… no one.<p>

Cloud trudged through the narrow streets, ignoring the strangers shoving past him, allowing himself to be pushed and pulled willingly.

What on earth had he done?

Nibelheim seemed so far away now, a distant memory in the back of his head, the biggest regret he'd ever have to face. The blonde had left his mother, left the townspeople, left Tifa. He had abandoned all of that, leaving only a single note to defend his decision. It had seemed such a brilliant idea at the time to escape that reality and form a new one. He hadn't even considered what he'd do once he arrived.

What COULD he do in Midgar? What DID Cloud have to offer?

The reason he had left his hometown was because he felt he didn't belong there. He didn't want to grow up and work in the Inn, he didn't want to listen to the tales of his father again and again. Cloud certainly didn't want to be a part of the shitty group he had joined to impress Tifa, either.

"Fuck them all," he declared, shouting it out into the entire street. "FUCK EVERYONE ONE OF THEM!"

Cloud knew that he had something special that the others didn't.

Now he just had to work out _what_…

The street split into eight different sections, all overcrowded and stuffy. It was like being back at home again, surrounded by people, feeling insignificant and worthless. With all that these strangers had to offer, how could Cloud find a job here, let alone a new start?

"Shut the hell up."

This wasn't who he was anymore. He wouldn't be that wimp from Nibelheim, letting people push him around and use him. Not today, not ever again.

What would his mother say if she could see him now?

She had raised this sweet child, nursed him, brought him up all by herself and spoilt him. Cloud had been the only kid in town whose parent seemed to give a fuck. He had stuck by all the rules and done everything to impress his dear mom. Now he was strolling through Midgar, covered in mud and bruises, this innocent kid from Nibelheim, out in the big world.

Innocent… he laughed at the word.

The street finally widened into a bigger, less populated area. It was still drowned out by the never ending smog and polluted air that gave Midgar its reputation, but now, it was bigger, longer, never ending. It practically screamed opportunity. The city for dreams.

And that's when he saw it.

* * *

><p>There had been a thousand billboards scattered in Midgar, so many of them, all fighting each other for domination, all lacking importance. They were there to look at but not there to FEEL for.<p>

But this… this was different. This had stopped Cloud dead in his tracks.

He froze suddenly in the rush of people, stopping in the middle of the crowd, feet glued to the ground. The people around him screamed and shouted, asking him to move the fuck on, but he couldn't and wouldn't listen. There was only one thing Cloud had eyes for now, and it stood above him, looming over his tiny figure.

The man before him was… beautiful.

Insanely beautiful to the point where Cloud wanted to fly up and dry hump the sign. His face had been plastered across the biggest billboard in the entire city, blocking out all of the other attempts at advertisement. Nobody could stop themselves from staring. Cloud couldn't stop himself from staring.

The words sat beneath his angelic, hard hitting face, but held no significance to him. How could he read anything positioned under a man like that? Cloud wanted to know so much. Who are you? What are you trying to tell me? Are you SINGLE?

Silver hair draped across his shielded body, long and silky, framing the face that had been crafted to perfection. Two fierce and empty eyes stared back at you, holding an unnatural glint of colour that should have glowed with character, but screamed instead with darkness. The lips were frowning, pierced across the face, with a mouth that would struggle to smile, even if happiness itself attempted it. Skin so pallid that even the white background itself struggle to compete; porcelain and smooth, perfect to touch.

Who was he? What was he promoting? How on earth could he find him?

The words below read, "Shinra Reserve Military – Join and become a hero – become the next Sephiroth."

_Sephiroth… _

He had heard that name before, spoken in Nibelheim, when the reactor had first been put in action. Many of the boys in the town had left to join and become heroic sons and daughters of the Shinra Army… but many hadn't returned. Death had greeted them by the dozen.

Where could he find the Shinra building? He walked forward, out of the mass of people, and balanced himself against the brick wall, sliding down to the floor. His eyes never once left the banner, gazing back into those villainous eyes. This man wasn't an illusion, he was real, and Cloud had never wanted to feel a presence as much as his.

He didn't even want to move away from that face…

"Hey, are you alright?"

Cloud's heart hammered in his chest, a glimpse of hope, a gift from Gaia! He hoped to see that gorgeous face staring back at him, offering his hand, hauling him up and into that muscular chest.

But it wasn't him.

"What are you doing here out alone?" the stranger asked. "Midgar isn't a place for cute young guys."

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><p>Cloud could barely comprehend what was happening, before a gloved hand reached out and hauled him up off the ground. He wasn't exactly a light guy, but the stranger had no trouble lifting him up. Before he knew it he was stumbling forward, into the arms of a stranger, uttering apologies.<p>

"You're covered in bruises, are you alright?"

The streetlight rested on the strangers face, bringing him into view for the confused blonde.

"What's your name?"

Cloud's breath hitched in his lungs, gazing up at the handsome stranger. If he hadn't have already seen that billboard, got lost in that man's eyes, he would have probably melted into a puddle of patheticness.

This guy, no, _man_, this really masculine figure, was grinning down at him, with the most energetic smile Cloud had ever seen. His eyes glowed, two inhuman blue orbs gazing down at him, the most mind blowing eyes he had ever laid eyes on.

His hair made even his blonde locks look flat, one big spiky black mess, defying gravity to the point of being impossible. There was a scar on his face, placed on his left cheek, deep and meaningful. Skinned so tanned that the sun would get envious. The total opposite to the stranger on the billboard in which he'd become infatuated with. But still so. Damn. gorgeous.

"C-Cloud Strife sir," he stuttered, his earlier rudeness quickly turning into courtesy.

The stranger smirked at him. "And where are you from, Cloud?"

"Nibelheim."

There was a look of confusion in the man's face, trying to piece the puzzle together. Why would someone from that far out be in Midgar?

"I could tell you had an accent," he chuckled, a strong hint of playfulness in his voice. "What are you doing here, kid?"

"I ran away from home."

It was said easier than he had imagined, slipped from his mouth before he could consider it. He watched as the strangers eyes flashed in concern, winced as the gloved hand gripped his shoulder tighter.

"Why did you run away from home?" they asked.

Cloud saw no reason to lie. "I didn't belong there; I wanted a fresh start… here."

The stranger laughed at him, patting him on the back, amused by the tale. It was a friendly movement though, one which Cloud hadn't felt in a long time. This man already seemed like an important piece in his puzzle.

"What's your name?" he asked nervously, cursing himself for being so shy.

"Zack Fair!" he declared, placing his hands proudly on his hip. "Soldier 1st Class at your service!"

Soldier…?

"Who do you work for?" Cloud asked him.

Zack patted the logo on his chest proudly. "Shinra, SOLDIER Division. Been there nearly four years."

… _Shinra?_

"You work for Shinra Corporation?" Cloud gasped, staring back again at the sign.

Had this man met the tall, handsome stranger on that billboard?

"Yes I do," Zack replied, following the blonde's line of vision. "Are you a fan of Sephiroth?"

Cloud wasn't about to explain. "Not really, but I've heard of him, and the army."

The gloved hands reached into the Shinra Uniform, pulling out a packet of cigarettes. He couldn't help but look as Zack drew out a smoke and placed it between those roughened lips. Cloud didn't even notice the packet be held out to him as an invitation.

"Do you want one?" he had to be asked.

Cloud shook his head. "No, I don't…" Before silencing himself.

Why shouldn't he accept the invitation? After all, he had only not tried it before because he didn't want to upset his mother. That was the old him, this was the new him, how hard could it be?

"Thanks," he said politely.

Zack lit his own cigarette skilfully, before handing the lighter to the blonde. "So you're here without a plan?" he asked, chuckling. "And you need something to build a life again?"

Cloud nodded.

"Then join the army? You look built to fight, kiddo."

The blonde looked surprised. "But I don't have any money, any experience, any skills."

"You don't need any! They'll pay you, they'll teach you, they'll craft you."

Cloud hadn't expected the invitation, and slowly began digesting everything the man was saying to him. Join the army? He hadn't even considered that. It wasn't something he could see himself doing. But what else was there? It seemed the easiest and most sensible path to follow.

"I might…" he said simply.

Zack didn't look satisfied. "You'll meet some great people there!"

His attention drew back to the billboard, gazing longingly at the silver haired man. He would meet people? It seemed that this whole military thing would land him more opportunities than just one. Cloud didn't want to sound childish or pathetic, but maybe, just maybe, he could meet that man there?

It was hilarious! Cloud had a handsome Soldier here, calling him cute, offering him places to be and places to stay, but all he could think of was a stupid little fantasy!

"I've made my decision," he declared, drawing the cigarette to his inexperienced mouth.

Zack smirked as the blonde choked. "What's that then, kiddo? Don't rush into things."

This was the perfect was to rebuild his life. Cloud didn't even have to consider anymore.

"I'm joining the Shinra Army."

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><p><strong>Alas, the first chapter is done, let the circle of luuuurve begin! Tell me what you thought PLZ, godamnit, don't make me beg :3<strong>


	2. Knowing You, Knowing Him

**General Dedication**

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

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><p><span> Knowing You, Knowing Him.<span>

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><p>The pair of them arrived at the Shinra apartments, both walking in surprisingly comfortable silence. It was such an unusual circumstance, the most incredible scenario, certainly for Cloud, who had moments ago been questioning his very future. Was he really about to enrol in the Shinra Army? Was he really about to enter a strangers apartment? This wasn't like him, not at all, and that was the best part of it.<p>

Cloud wanted to ask so many questions to his newfound friend, but it seemed way too early to interrogate him. He yearned to know what bands he liked, what his favourite colour was, how long he had been a member of Soldier and most importantly, _who he actually knew in Soldier._

He decided not to act his usual stalkerish self, keeping silent for once in his life. There was no need to appear more insane than he already did. It wasn't the best way to go; especially when you've spent the last two hours practically looking and smelling like a fresh bowel movement.

"Excuse the mess!" Zack apologised, swinging the door open for them.

Cloud nervously stepped through, leaping over discarded clothes, books, papers and… _underwear_?

Zack looked similarly confused. "What the hell? How could they have gotten THERE?"

_Tap._

_Tap._

They both looked up in unison, heads snapping upwards, eyes staring dumbly into the clustered hall. Their heartbeats had practically turned into bass speakers.

Had they just heard a noise?

_Yup, _they had DEFINITELY heard a noise.

Cloud jumped at the second odd sound, turning quickly round to his left, alert for any danger. Burglars? Murderers? What could HE do against them?

What if his mother had tracked him from Nibelheim, like the sly dog she was? Cloud was sure she could have sniffed his goddamn horse stench from all the way back home. She probably had her radar on high alert, her motherly instincts sending her into a fit of hormonal menstruation.

He felt a pang of guilt for a second.

_Only for a second._

"Stay here Cloud," Zack ordered, edging towards the bedroom. "Don't follow me, okay?"

Regardless of his suspicions, Cloud stayed put, knowing that a 1st Class Soldier had a higher chance of battering an assailant than he did.

The door was opened slowly and silently, Zack's face morphing from a look of confusion into immediate relief.

That had quickly formed into a face of anger. Pure anger. He hadn't gone slightly red with rage, oh no. He was SCARLET.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud heard him mumble.

The second voice in the room spoke. "I was waiting for you to come home, idiot."

"I told you to be gone by the time I was back, didn't I?"

"Was just trying to surprise you. Don't get so fucking up on your high horse about it."

Zack turned guiltily back round to Cloud. "I'm sorry about this, buddy…"

Cloud heard the stranger spring up off the bed, presumably in surprise, lurching themselves at Zack. They peered their head through the door, strands of red locks sticking out through the gap. He looked both amused and somewhat offended, when he saw the blonde perched awkwardly in the hallway.

"You brought some meat home, huh?"

"What's it to you whether I did or not? I can bring whoever the hell I want back to my own apartment."

The redhead patted him on the back. "No worries, yo. Was just trying to be a friend and comfort you when you returned home, after your hard day at work."

Zack snarled. "Trying to comfort me, were you?

Cloud didn't know whether to stand there like an idiot, or walk away…_ like a decent idiot_.

"Don't worry, I'm going. I'll leave you two girls alone."

The stranger stormed past Cloud, intentionally bashing their shoulders together, making him feel a pang of guilt for something he wasn't even involved in. He quickly turned away, gawping at the floor, not wanting to look either in the eye. It wouldn't be wise to get in the middle of a brawl this bitter.

The redhead froze in the door. "Text me if you want to meet up again, alright mate?"

"Wouldn't count on it, _friend."_

The door was slammed in one swift moment, leaving Cloud and Zack alone in the hallway.

"Who was that?" Cloud asked politely.

Zack sighed. "Someone I used to be really close to, until they became a selfish cunt."

"Do you hate him or something?"

Zack turned his attention to the blonde, face solemn and lifeless, before throwing a saddened smile. "No," he said softly, shaking his head. "I could never hate him."

* * *

><p>"So tell me a little more about yourself."<p>

Cloud had been asked the question he had been itching to ask the other all night.

_Beat me to it._

"Well, what do you want to know?"

Zack grinned mischievously. "Let's start with the basics. Did you really run away from home?"

"Yeah, everything I told you earlier was true; I hitched a ride from home and caught the train to Midgar at night."

"Did you tell everyone you were leaving beforehand?"

Cloud looked away guilty. "Actually, I didn't give them any warning, I just…_ left_."

"What on earth urged you to do that?"

Cloud shrugged. "I guess they just didn't understand who I was and what I wanted in life. I felt trapped in my own home."

"And what _do_ you want in life, then?"

That was a good question. One good, _good _question that he didn't actually know the answer to. He was spontaneous, with everything he did, that's just the way Cloud was.

"I don't understand it yet," he admitted.

Zack nodded in understanding. "Alright then, let's ask a little less personal question. Favourite band?"

"Don't make me pick just one!" Cloud gasped, taken aback by the question.

"List your top three then, fool!"

"I guess it would have to be Pink Floyd, System of a Down and Metallica. What about you?"

"Don't really listen to music."

Cloud looked at him, inhaling a deep, passionate breathe of air. It took every ounce of willpower not to scream out at him._"SOULLESS BASTARD! DON'T EVEN SIT NEAR ME."_ Not liking music? Cloud would rather spend his entire life painting women's genitalia, than live without music.

"Favorite TV show?" was the next question.

"Don't really watch that much television. In Nibelheim, it's a rare event to marvel before technology."

Zack had the same look of horror Cloud had previously wore. "No television?"

"Nope."

"What about the internet?"

"Like I said, we don't have that much technology, so I've only ever used a computer once."

Zack looked like he were about to vomit a kidney.

"You've. Never. Used. A. Computer. More. Than. One. Single. Time?"

Cloud shook his head.

"But that's madness!" Zack declared, throwing himself up. "How on earth are you expected to watch... PORN?"

_Porn?_

"Or are you one of those intelligent bastards who need only use their magnificent imagination?"

Cloud frowned at him. "I've never watched porn, Zack."

The look on the Soldier's face stated that someone had died, someone had pulled out a gun, someone had shown him a ghost.

No… _this was worse_.

"YOU'VE NEVER WATCHED PORN?"

The blonde shuffled awkwardly. "Well, I could have done, but, like, Nibelheim is strict with the internet, y'know, it blocks certain websites and stuff, and, well, the stuff I like, would, uhm, be blocked."

Zack raised an interested eyebrow. "Why would that be then?"

"Nibelheim are, how to do I put it… Not very fond of certain ways of life, or modern attitudes. They have strict beliefs, and if you don't stick to them, you might as well be dead."

"So they disagree with sex then?" Zack cried in horror.

"No, no! Not at all. They just disagree with certain elements of it, if you get me."

No, he didn't get him.

_Not a damn bit._

"You ever slept with a woman, Cloud?" Zack asked him.

He shook his head. "Nope, not a single one. Not even the town catch, who would practically smother cervical fluid all over herself and demand you lick it off, just for the temptation. Dedicated bitch."

Zack looked distraught. "Why didn't you go for it Cloud?"

"Uh…"

He'd never been put in this situation before.

"Zack, have you not noticed anything… _different_ about me? Suspicious? Anything that stands out to you as not normal?"

The Soldier shook his head.

Cloud sighed.

"Girls are like ice cream, right? You get a taste of them, and to begin with it's great, but once you're finished, you feel a sense of disappointment. Once you start to finish the ice cream; you begin to enjoy it less and less. The taste just ends up a sickly nuisance in your mouth, and the only thing you've gained from it is calories."

Zack looked even more confused than before. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

_Seems I'll just have to come out with it._

"People didn't accept me in my hometown because I didn't want to settle down with a girl."

"… I'm a homosexual, Zack."

* * *

><p>There was no look of horror, no judgement, no awkward laugh.<p>

Zack actually looked… amused.

"I knew no straight guy could dress like that!" he laughed. "Even if you do smell like a tramp."

"… You don't mind?"

Zack almost looked offended. "Why would I mind if you were gay?"

"I don't know, some people are just damn funny about it, especially in my hometown. It's as if they expected me to just start butt-fucking someone in the middle of town, waving around a rainbow pride flag mid-thrust."

He snickered at the comment. "Perhaps you should have accepted the challenge, Cloud."

"Perhaps I should have."

Zack seemed to pause for a moment, pondering something, deep in thought. He quickly decided to dismiss it though, and continued to smirk at the concerned blonde.

Cloud didn't want to drop that moment of wonder. "What were you about to tell me, just then?"

"The truth."

Well, that could mean _anything._

"The truth about what exactly?" Cloud asked him.

Zack smiled appreciatively. "You were really honest with me back then, to a complete stranger who you've never met before, and I feel bad having lied to you already."

"There's something I twisted earlier, to hide my own 'dark' secret."

Cloud cocked his head. "Which was?"

"… Remember that guy you saw in the bedroom?" Zack asked him.

He nodded.

_Wont be able to forget that for a while._

"Well, I asked you to stay behind... because I already had my suspicions on who it would be."

"… And what they would be doing."

Cloud's heart began to hammer against his chest.

"I walked into the bedroom," Zack continued, turning away from his gaze. "To find him completely naked, lay across my bed, sprawled over the sheets like a disease."

The blonde snorted. "Naked, why?"

"Those weren't my boxers on the floor, Cloud. They were his. He'd left them there this morning after I'd gone to work."

This couldn't be what it sounded like.

_Could it?_

"He was waiting for me to get home," Zack sighed. "Thinking he could cheer himself up, by pretending it was really for my damn sake."

Cloud pouted at him. "So… you two are… together?"

Zack shook his head. "It's far more complicated than that. If we were together, it wouldn't bother me as much as it does."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Reno, he's a pretty well respected Turk. We used to be good buddies back in the day, and evidently, as you can guess, that grew into something more personal. You learn everything about Turk's the hard way: they don't want relationships, or affection, or responsibility, cause they're married to their job. You think Soldier kills your social life? Well fuck me sideways, being a Turk means work is your ONLY social life."

Cloud threw him a look of sympathy.

"But I won't…" Zack muttered, forming a weak smile. "… Let it get to me anymore."

"Besides, I've got you now, right?"

Cloud blushed at the wink Zack sent his way. He wasn't used to such blunt flirting. It was only something he'd imagined back at home.

"Unless… you've already got someone special?"

* * *

><p>The question should have been answered with a simple, 'no' and that would have been the end of it.<p>

But as usual, Cloud couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"I like someone," he admitted, bowing his head. "But it's a little pathetic, and a little bizarre."

"Care to share with the class, Mr. Strife?"

Cloud giggled nervously. "If I told you, you'd think I'm absolutely mad! Deranged! Psychotic!"

"Can't be more shocking than some of the stuff** Sephiroth's** told me."

_Bam._

That was the name.

_Dum-dum._

Zack had just said his name.

_Opportunity._

"Do you know him well?" Cloud practically squealed. "Sephiroth, I mean, are you two good friends?"

"Yeah, we're pretty close, I'd say."

The next question came out of nowhere. "Could you introduce me to him, maybe?"

Cloud tried to look innocent, he tried to look like he were asking a simple and genuine question. Unfortunately, he had never been good where acting was concerned. Zack could see it, he could see the glint in those eyes and the smile playing at those lips. It unsettled him.

"Why do you ask?"

Nor was Cloud good at lying. "Nothing! I guess it would just be cool to meet him, and stuff."

"I suppose you've read about him?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged at him. "Not too much, really. Like I said, Nibelheim is a pretty shut off town."

"Then why do you look so excited?"

_Because I'll be having wet dreams about his billboard display?_

The truth was too petty. "I don't."

Zack didn't buy it, nor did he ignore it, eyes burning into Cloud with an unfamiliar look of venom.

**"… Forget it."**

There were no sharper words imaginable.

_Forget it._

Cloud tried to play the fool. "E-Excuse me? What do you mean, forget it?"

"You know what I mean."

"Look, you're not the first, and certainly won't be the last to fall for the almighty General, but I'm telling you for your own sake, just forget it."

Cloud felt himself grow defensive. "I barely know him! I just was just seeing if you could -"

"Listen to me."

"Sephiroth is a cold-hearted, lonesome man, who would prefer a life of solitude, next to a life of romance and love. He hates relationships, and in general, hates people. I know him well, so take it from me, it could never happen, and kidding yourself will only get you hurt."

_But I don't even know him._

Then, why? Why did it hurt so much to be fed rejection indirectly from him?

"Why does he hate it?" Cloud asked, confusion mixed with distress. "Why won't he let anyone into his life?"

Zack didn't have the answers he needed. "Sephiroth's always been like that."

"You don't know him kiddo, I do."

That was right, he didn't know him, he didn't know him AT ALL. This was pathetic, HE was pathetic. Fancy obsessing over some guy you had never met in your life and giving yourself the slightest hope that something could happen! It was like falling for a celebrity, but even more impractical!

Cloud felt himself be torn rudely from the little fantasy he had dreamt up and be thrown straight back into reality. He was just some guy, just some loser from Nibelheim who had trudged his sorry ass into the big world. Sephiroth was all mighty and all powerful, the face of judgement and reason, the teenage wet fantasy. Why would a guy like that choose just ONE from so many other offers?

He had seen him on a BILLBOARD for Christ sake, not a damn dating column!

"I'm just being silly," Cloud mumbled, trying to laugh it off. "Hey, we can all dream for miracles, right!"

Zack laughed with him. "Yeah… to a certain extent."

The seriousness returned back to his face.

"Don't chase after a lost cause though, Cloud. If you're joining the Army, do it for yourself. Never allow yourself to get tangled in the idea that anything could ever happen. Because trust me, behind those bright eyes and luscious locks is a dark, dark man. And if you do find a way into his life, take it from me, in the end, no matter how you look at it…"

"… He will tear you apart."

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><p><strong>So, what do you people think? OH GOD, I'M A REVIEW WHORE, THROW ME THOSE COMMENTS, I THRIVE OFF THEM, MY SLUTTY WAYS CANNOT BE STOPPED.<strong>

**RENO, WHY U SO BASTARDY? Oh, I love pairing up all the different characters, I can't wait for the sex chapters, hurr hurr.**

**I've read a fic recently where Sephiroth is really out of character, and, to be fair, I want him to be the cold grumpy asshole he should be. More challenging!**

**F.Y.I - I made Cloud's favorite bands my three favorites, could ya tell? I'm that sad, it brings me joy that I added those in... Le cry.**

**... REVIEW :3**


	3. Voice of the General

**General Dedication**

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><p>Chapter Three<p>

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><p><span>Voice of the General<span>

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><p>"I'm so nervous! Fuck! Someone fetch a flask, I'm drinking my own sweat here!"<p>

To say Cloud was slightly anxious about his interview would be the _understatement _of the century. He couldn't remember ever feeling this wound up about anything,_ ever_. It wasn't as if this was something he had dreamed of becoming all of his life either, it was just somewhere to stay and earn some money!

After all, there was no longer a _second_ and _better_ reason for joining the Shinra Army…

**-Forget it.-**

"Cloud Strife, is it?" a woman called over to him. "You're turn now; take a seat in Interview Room 2."

Zack nudged him playfully. "You'll be brilliant, buddy."

"This is where me and you differ. I am realistic and reasonable; you however are an optimistic little cunt."

Cloud couldn't help but laugh at himself, maybe nervously, maybe in genuine hysterics. Whatever the reason, it set him off in a song of laughter, clutching his stomach till tears rolled down his cheeks.

Those tears soon turned into genuine sobs of self pity.

_Sobbing._

"I'll be waiting here," Zack told him reassuringly. "If you don't get through, I'll offer to buy the instrument."

"An instrument, for what?"

Zack smirked at him. "All of the homeless play instruments, Cloud. Really are a town boy, aren't you?"

"… Shut the hell up."

* * *

><p>The dark voices in his head began to titter, threatening to resurface and ruin his entire plan of becoming successful. Cloud didn't want to be that guy, he didn't <em>want <em>to turn into the younger version of himself, but at this rate, he wouldn't have any choice.

_Welcome back, Nostalgia._

"Cloud Strife, is that correct?"

He shuffled nervously in the interrogation seat, finding answering a question simply about his NAME an impossible task. The sentence he had planned quickly turned into a silent nod. Followed by more fidgeting, twitching and of course, sweating.

Cloud wouldn't have an interview to worry about soon enough.

At this rate, he'd end up flooding the place, and the three of them would have to make a desperate bid to escape. The battle would be difficult and challenging, but as a team, they'd override the tsunami that is Cloud Strife's bodily fluid. After the fight against death, the two of them would congratulate him on his bravery, handing him an instant pass into the company.

_They'd probably just suggest showering._

"You're from… Nibelheim?" they asked, voice rising as they read out the town name.

Cloud nodded again.

The two of them exchanged glances. "It's been a while since any of your folk came here to try out."

_What?_

"No, you must be mistaken," Cloud finally managed to string together. "Loads of boys from my town come here to join."

Frowns were thrown his way. "True as that is, unfortunately… none have ever actually gotten in."

"What."

Cloud felt the panic return to him, cursing his home roots, cursing his mother for getting knocked up in such a place. No one? Not even ONE person from Nibelheim had managed to get through?

"But they all left for here," Cloud told them. "None ever returned, so I just assumed they were dead or missing in action."

"Sometimes kid, pride is worth more than the truth."

He didn't understand it, asking them politely to explain what the fuck they were getting at.

"Basically, we're saying that most boys come here thinking it's a piece of cake. They arrive here, take all the tests, and get rejected, fearful to return to a disappointed family."

Cloud shook his head. "No… I don't think it's that at all."

"People from Nibelheim dream of escaping somewhere, anywhere, as long as it's not home. I think they all just want a reason to leave. Living in that town is like being a bird without wings, without the ability to fly. If you wish to escape, you have to find the harder route, but in the end, it's worth it. Changing and adapting to a new lifestyle is just the test you have to take in order to succeed."

… Oh god.

Cloud threw his head into his hands. Had he REALLY just rambled away like that? In his INTERVIEW?

He watched nervously as they jotted something down together. His eyes glared rudely at the paper, desperate to see what they'd written, desperate to know whether it was good or bad news. He expected something along the lines of TWAT would be scribbled on the notepad. The handwriting was difficult to read, but he could just about make out his name written down and the word… _deep._

They thought Cloud was DEEP?

He snorted.

"Why do you want to join?" they asked him, a question he had already been expecting.

He had been planning an answer all night long with Zack, thinking of ways to make his story sound more exciting and dramatic. Pull at their heart strings, make them feel bad, make him appear a tough kid with a rocky background. Have them whip out the Kleenex, sobbing hysterically as they congratulated his bravery.

Realistically, he was just a scrawny, cute-looking, rambunctious homosexual.

"I ran away from home."

_What._

Cloud clasped his palms around his mouth, silencing himself, preventing himself from blurting anything further. What had he just done! He'd just told them the truth! What had happened to the lie and make 'em cry plan? He was done for; he was going to be kicked out faster than he could say, well… anything.

"_If you make sure I nail the interview, maybe I could, make sure you nail something in return, Colonel?"_

... Than plan would have been so much simpler.

"Why did you run away from home?" they asked him. "That seems a reckless thing to do, especially for someone who wants to become a warrior."

Cloud swallowed loudly. "I needed to escape the horror of my hometown. Nobody understood me, and I similarly didn't understand or feel the need to connect with any of them. I needed something to run to, somewhere that I could prove myself and my worth."

They furrowed their brows simultaneously. "You don't think you have any worth, Strife?"

_Murdering this interview, you are. _

"I've been brought up to believe that fact. That's why I'm here, to become something. If I thought I had worth and everything I needed already in the bag, what would be the point in coming here?"

They nodded in agreement.

_Listen to you, smart ass._

"What's the most important thing to you?" they asked him. "Out of anything and everything, THE most important thing to you."

Cloud was really put on the spot now.

Importance?

He couldn't really think of anything THAT important to him, when right now, he had nothing.

"Well…"

That's when it returned to him.

"The most important thing to me," he said, peeking out at Zack in the window. "…Is feeling wanted."

* * *

><p>Zack squealed at him like a fat kid squeals at anorexia.<p>

"YOU GOT THROUGH!" he bellowed, wrapping his arms round the blonde. "I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT, YOU SLY BASTARD, YOU!"

Cloud pulled away at the point of not breathing.

"What did you tell them?" Zack asked. "Did you do what we practised? What we did last night?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, I had no tactic, really."

"Then what did you do then? How did you manage to get through? We all have a certain trick that we pull, come on, spill it."

The answer was simple. "I was just… honest," Cloud smiled, feeling good about that fact.

"I've got to say I'm impressed," Zack scoffed, slapping him on the back. "There must be something special about you then, kiddo."

"Like my ability to supply endless amounts of water to third world countries, you mean?"

Zack stared him up and down. "Yeah," he snorted. "Perhaps you should take a shower."

"Gyah!"

They both jumped at the sound of Nickelback, screaming through the hall.

… Was that a ringtone?

Zack threw his phone out his pocket, ripping the lid open and smashing it against his ear. He mumbled a few times into the speaker, clearly the listener and not the speaker in the conversation. After about two minutes of muttering and head nodding, he put the phone down.

"This is where we depart champ," he sighed loudly.

Cloud pouted up at him. "I don't know anyone here, though! What am I going to do?"

"Here."

Zack threw him the keys to his apartment, something that made Cloud feel better than he had felt in a long time. This was a big thing to do, something that he hadn't NEEDED to do.

"Are you sure?"

Zack nodded. "Of course I'm sure. Now hurry off home, before Sephiroth bites my head off."

_Sephiroth._

Cloud felt himself tense up again. "W-What did he want?"

"To remind me of the meeting," Zack said uncaringly. "We're all discussing the new plans for the Materia Room. Clearly, this news makes you jealous, as it will no doubt be an exciting and unforgettable experience."

The blonde was too busy thinking hard to himself to reply or notice the strong sarcasm.

_Zack._

Zack was going to be in a meeting, merely meters away from SEPHIROTH, talking to him, sharing breathing space with him.

Cloud wanted to go with him, just to INHALE the very air that the General had exhaled out into.

He could even rummage through the bins later and cradled one of his used snotty tissues?

"Where's it at?" he asked shakily.

Zack didn't recognise his state. "On the 69th Floor, the meeting room, gotta be there in ten minutes."

"Well… have fun," Cloud said erratically.

"Hey, are you alright? You're going very wheezy all of a sudden, is something the matter?"

Cloud shook his head a little more violently than needed.

"Is it the after effect?" Zack asked him. "I mean, of the nerves you experienced in the interview?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah!" Cloud exclaimed, relieved of the excuse being handed to him. "Just a big shaky still."

"Well you can back to mine and rest, yeah?"

"…Yeah, sure."

But as Zack walked away, waking goodbye to him, Cloud already knew that going home was out of the question.

* * *

><p>Cloud COULD NOT believe what he was doing. He was disgraced at himself, cursing at himself, wishing he'd listened to his mother's advice all those years ago.<p>

"_Never listen to a conversation that you haven't been invited into."_

What was he, some sort of deprived pervert, waiting hungrily for his pray to appear before him?

Cloud was squatting, SQUATTING, outside the meeting room on the 39th Floor, where Zack had said the meeting was taking place. The Soldier had been truthful, confirming that thought as a large group of people strolled into the room and firmly shut the door. Shut it closed. Damnit.

He couldn't see anything, which was a bummer now, but Cloud could still _hear_.

"Everyone stand before the president."

Seats could be heard shuffling around, frantic movements of colleagues desperate to impress their boss. Cloud imagined he would be an idiot around the President too. Well, that is, if he would be able to keep his eyes off his bill-board crush.

_Stop it._

"What are these plans you're putting into action?" he heard Zack say.

Cloud looked nervously around him, checking for any on goers that would happen to pass his cowering figure, lurking to the side of wall. It wasn't exactly a position he could exactly turn into a believable story. He couldn't be looking for something he dropped, nor could he be taking a quick break… on the door.

The sight of Cloud Strife squatting down onto the carpet looked nothing more than an attempt to release an enormous load of turd.

_I shouldn't even be doing this!_

The president was the next to pipe up. "We plan to extend it, into something that only the high ranked Soldier's can use."

"What about the lower classes?" Zack asked with concern.

"Fuck them."

Cloud spat at the comment. Well, he was glad his type were viewed so damn highly, how-kind-of-you-to-say-love.

"What do you suggest we use the additional room for then, captain?"

_Bam._

That voice.

_Da-Dum._

It hit him straight where it mattered most.

_Breathe._

Cloud went to peer into the gap in the door, but couldn't muster the strength. He decided to listen harder, try work out who the voices matched to, despite the fact he only knew one of them.

Two of them, practically.

_Shut up. You don't even know the General in person._

"What do you suggest we do," the President asked smarmily. "Oh mighty, Sephiroth?"

_Sephiroth._

Cloud's eyes flew open.

_It's him._

The voice that had made him shudder.

_It's him._

The man that had captured his interest.

_It's him._

The man that was only METRES away.

"I do assume my ideas are worthless to you," Sephiroth pointed out. "I recall you dismissing my last suggestion… _President_."

Cloud whimpered painfully. The deep growl escaping those perfect lips rolled off his tongue and flew straight towards his aching groin. Sephiroth's lowering in tone as he spat out the final word made his entire stomach tingle and squeeze tightly. The image of his striking face, splattered across that billboard, returned to him vengeance. The memory alone drove him crazy. He rammed his ear further against the door, more daring, more reckless, ANYTHING to hear that voice again.

"No snide comment back, President? I am generally astounded."

It hit him.

It sliced him.

It plummeted towards his crotch and gripped tightly at every nerve and sensitive spot. He felt his length twitching nervously as the sound of that husky tone travelled across the room. Cloud bit his lips to prevent the moan threatening to pour out. How could someone be this attracted to a VOICE?

"You didn't give me enough time, General Sephiroth."

Cloud stifled a groan as he heard the General release a sigh of exasperation. The innocent sound of a man exhaling sounded more to him like the not-so-innocent sound of a man spent.

This was ridiculous.

He could actually feel himself getting hard now! The pure sound of Sephiroth's voice alone had caused him to get the biggest erection possible. What would he do if he were to meet him in person? Would he be able to control his actions, but not his thoughts? Or would the poor guy end up splattering his emissions at the word 'hello.'

He was truly pathetic.

"… Nevertheless, I do believe that if we work together, we can create something wonderful. "

Cloud leaned further against the door, scrunching his face up in pure concentration.

_No no, _pure CONSTIPATION.

He tried to push further against the door, ignoring the pain in his bending knees, desperate to hear that voice again. The voices slowly disappeared, and he tried to listen harder. But the people weren't talking anymore. The voice had stopped. The conversation wasn't made louder by him pressing his head against the door.

There was no longer a serious meeting taking place.

... Because Cloud was falling.

_It all happened too fast._

One minute, he was leaning on the door.

_It all happened too fast._

The next minute, Cloud found himself topping over, flying head-over-tit into the silent meeting room. His hands flew out as a form of support, but failed him as he slipped and face planted the carpet. It smelt off cinnamon and mud. It FELT like a punch to the face.

Cloud blinked twice, telling himself it HAD to be a illusion.

… But he wasn't snapping out of it.

… And the faces didn't disappear.

Cloud looked up from his lying position, SPRAWLED, across the red carpet. His cheeks matched the colour of the floor as he tried to muster the strength to talk, scream, do ANYTHING.

"Kid, what the HELL are you doing?"

He glanced over to Zack from his planking position, who threw him only a looking of pure astonishment. Those blue orbs flickered in disbelief, staring down at him with the look of a shameful parent.

Cloud felt like he'd been caught having sex.

He felt like he'd been walked in on masturbating.

No no, this was WORSE.

The ground could have swallowed him hole, sucked him into a black pit, fucking hell it might as well have killed him, for that would be MUCH less humiliating than this.

"Did someone invite him in here?"

Zack finally piped up. "Cloud, what the HELL are you doing?"

The President was next. "Good question, what ARE you doing, intruding on a meeting, kid?"

Cloud quickly clambered himself up, brushing himself down, readjusting his flattened spikes. All he needed to do was smile casually, and walk out, nothing more to see here.

_What the hell._

The feel of something sliding down his face ruined that plan for him, as he brought his fingers up to his nose and whimpered.

… He was having a NOSEBLEED.

"I-I was just waiting for my friend Zack," he muttered quietly. "I needed a word with him about... swords."

He could feel their eyes on him.

He could feel HIS eyes on him.

But he daren't look, his eyes resting on every member in the room BUT him. Well done Cloud, excellent first impression, the man now thinks you're a maniac.

He _yearned _to look at him.

"Did you not feel the need to knock?" one of the men asked him angrily.

Cloud scratched the back of his head. "S-sorry sir, I'll consider that next time, please do forgive me!"

The blood was now gushing from his nose, drowning his mouth in metal tasting crap. It slurred his speech, the leakage so high that it spilled from his bottom lip. He sounded more like he was saying something amongst the line of, "dgg frgr etfeg egeg wwrw."

Zack was still gawping at him, eyes fixated on his nose, travelling down his body, resting on something, concentrating on something, orbs widening as he caught onto SOMETHING.

Cloud looked down to where his attention lied.

_No._

His eyes grew as wide as his friends, no, WIDER, as he realised what exactly he was looking at. The table might as well be insignificant, for where Cloud was concerned, the only wood in the room was HIS.

Sephiroth's voice.

The sound of that moaning.

Cloud now had a mother-effing erection right before the man at hand himself!

"I'll be going then!" he cried, quickly turning away from the crowd. There was no need to look where he was going, for a big signal sticking from his pants acted like a flashlight for him.

Cloud remembered the look on Zack's face.

Zack remembered the look on Cloud's face.

"Isn't that the kid you found on the streets?" one of the meeting members asked him. "The one you were telling us about?"

"Yeah, that's him."

They tutted loudly at him. "Should know better than to bring psychotic strangers into the company."

Cloud heard them all titter,

TITTER at him, laughing amongst themselves, taking the absolute piss.

_He wanted to die._

Cloud went to turn away from the room, get the next elevator down, escape this madness, find a wall and furiously head bang it. Cry into a pillow. Pop a few time-of-the-month pills to calm his scarily feminine hormones.

But a comment stopped him dead.

Dead.

Sephiroth had stood up in his seat, the chair scraping loudly against the carpet. "I thought you were pickier with your friendship choices, Zachary."

Cloud felt blood rush to his ears, the tears threatening to spill down, the old weakness returning to him.

**"Stupid kid."**

… Stupid kid?

_Stupid kid. Stupid kid. Stupid kid._

It was unavoidable. For the first time in an entire year, after making himself stronger, after pushing away the old him…

… Cloud Strife began to cry.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh Cloud, you silly man you, I'm making you out to be a total twat. Perhaps I'm basing you off myself too much?<strong>

**I LOVE Nibelheim in the game, excuse me for concentrating on it so much.**

**Sephiroth, you ass!**

**Please reviews, for I am a whore, and I need the reviews to keep my slutiness alive. I love feedback, otherwise, how do I know whether I'm doing well? **


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